The Impromptu heir
by aliasmel1
Summary: Hermione's life is crumbling around her. Ron has up and left her and any plans she had of ever having and raising a child all but look to be gone until it comes to light that her and Lucius Malfoy want the same thing in life but for two totally different reasons. She wants a child to love, he needs an heir to the Malfoy fortune before it's too late.
1. Chapter 1

Hermione's life as she knew it was slowly but surely slipping away from her grasp and any control that she had over it was all but gone by the wayside.

Her marriage to Ron was over when he had walked into their home after finishing work one-afternoon last week and proclaimed whilst he did love her, he was no longer in love with her and he had now grown and evolved as a person and found someone else to occupy his time and his heart.

It wasn't the fact he wanted to leave that hurt her heart and tore it out, it was the fact that he had cheated on her for the past year while lying in their marital bed beside her and pretended as if everything was still hunky-dory and there was nothing at all untoward going on. Hell, up until a few days before he left she assumed everything was fine, he would kiss her on the cheek and head off to work and then come home and kiss her once again.

Never in a million years did she think he would do that, never did she suspect that from the moment he kissed her in the morning till the moment he walked in the door at night that he was at work sneaking around with the other woman and she really didn't know him anymore.

Not only was her heart tearing into a million pieces over that but her workload was exponential right now and she was finding it hard to cope. She was certain she was losing a vast amount of hair every morning when she tugged the brush through her wild curls, but she was too tired to care right now. Being the Minister for Magic was not easy and now with Ron declaring his undying love for the bitch he worked within magical law enforcement department her life would get a lot harder when the Daily Prophet came sniffing around for a story. She would have to address the marriage breakdown sooner rather than later so Ron and his newfound lover could assume a normal life instead of running around behind everyone's backs. She had asked him for the courtesy of keeping things on the down-low until such a time she could announce it herself.

She felt like a right idiot for not seeing anything was going on under her nose, and now that she thought about it and analysed she thought perhaps the other woman always looked Hermione down her nose on the off chance she went to see Ron in his department, almost like she was jealous. She wished she had had saw the signs earlier she then again she had never assumed Ron would do anything to betray or hurt her.

She now had No husband, a job that asked more of her than she could physically give and had her looking at least ten years older than she was with at least two silvery strands of hair starting to peek through and an errant wrinkle here or there. She wasn't getting any younger and she wanted to have a child by the time she was thirty-six years old. That was her grand plan and so far, that too was an absolute fail, she was on the slippery slope teetering almost at forty years old and she had yet to conceive a child and her body clock much like a ticking timebomb towards nothingness. She would be surprised if she had any eggs left to fertilise.

She hadn't fallen pregnant through lack of trying, no, right up until his revelation they had been actively trying for a child but she had never fallen much to her dismay and sadness because Ron's family had the fertility of a harem of horny rabbits and yet he failed to produce a single off-spring so surely it had to be her she assumed.

And now at the three broomsticks at the bar, a tumbler of heavy whisky clutched in her hand tightly as if she were dependent on it as her lifeblood. Tangled hair hung loosely around her face as her head slumped forward gazing into the whiskey as if it were about to tell her a story or swallow her up and tell her it would all be ok. It never did.

"Ah, the best way to cure a broken heart." A deep male voice roused her from her deep mood souring thoughts.

"What makes you think I'm trying to cure a broken heart?" She whispered back not even cocking her head to the side to see who was talking to her.

"I've been there before. The slumped shoulders, the despondent look deep in your eyes that look as if you have all but given up hope and the will to live, here to drown your sorrows and cloud your inhibitions in the hope the heartache will lessen and you will feel more human. Trust me, the drinking is just a temporary band-aid fix, sooner or later you have to tear the band-aid off and the sadness and desolation will come flooding back in wave after wave of pure misery."

The corners of her lips tugged just so in a sad, small smile. "Thank you for the insight, Mister Malfoy. Always coming out with pearls of wisdom," she bit a little too harshly but he didn't recoil.

He had lost both Narcissa and Draco during the war, both died at the hand of their maleficent overlord just before Voldemort himself was slaughtered at the hands of Potter. He had become a recluse for years before anyone had seen him out again in public. One day as if a switch turned on, he was back out wandering Diagon Alley and getting on with his life and they all assumed his heart had finally mended enough for him to function as a normal human once again.

"You know me, Mr's Weasley, always happy to help."

He watched as she cringed when he addressed her followed by her slamming the entire contents on the whiskey down her throat.

"Did I just hit a sore spot?" An eyebrow quirked and lips twitched softly as he beckoned the bartender to bring them both new drinks.

"No," she panted as the afterburn of the whiskey ailed her.

"I saw the way you cringed. Is there something going on in your life that your adoring public hasn't caught wind of yet? Interesting."

"Loose lips sink ships, Malfoy. I would appreciate if you kept any of your revelations and what you think to yourself for a while, yeah?"

She spun on her seat sideways to study him. He still had his chiselled jaw and his long blonde hair. He still had an air of arrogance around him and he still dressed well. He was still handsome as much as she hated to admit it, something she thought of him the very first day she ever met him all those years ago. He looked a little older but as a pureblood wizard his genetics fared well, and he aged a lot slower than an average person.

"Marital problems?"

She didn't answer. The small glimmer in her eye and the twitch of her cheek told him otherwise.

"I'm sorry." He picked his own glass up and sipped liberally at the whiskey. "It was never my intention to intrude, only offer a listening ear to our dishevelled and heartbroken looking minister."

She waved a hand dismissively and turned away to grab her drink. The last thing she needed was him to see the tears glittering in the corners of her eyes and her lip quivering like a sheet in a breeze. She slammed the contents down once again and turned back to him trying to hold herself together.

"You can let it all out pet, you will feel better. I won't judge. Merlin knows I've done years of crying when I lost my family. It does get better eventually but for a while, you feel lost and alone like the entire world has stopped revolving and you just want to die."

She snorted. "I can't let the whole bar see their brave leader bawling like a baby to Lucius Malfoy."

Lucius looked around at the empty bar. "Yeah, full house tonight," his words dripped with sarcasm.

She smiled gently at him while trying to hold herself together with every fibre of her being. She hated crying in front of anyone at all. She would always save her tears for her pillow, but she felt so alone right now. Harry and Ginny had their own family, Ron had run off with another woman and her parents didn't want to hear her wail and scream to them about her broken heart and how terrible her life was, and she didn't really have any friends left. The only two friends she ever had in life well, yeah.

"I'm here to talk if you like. I won't bite and I promise you I am nothing like I was from years gone by. The death of my family changed me."

She swiped feverishly at her cheeks to mop up the stray tears falling down her face. She didn't really know if she could trust Lucius Malfoy as far as she could throw him, but she did know that he had indeed changed, and he was turning over a new leaf. She also knew if she didn't talk to someone she would implode.

"Fine. But not here in public."

o-o-o-o-o-o

"And that's basically the crux of it," she moaned a sad sigh cross-legged on her couch with a bottle of wine clutched in her hand haphazardly.

He watched her intently from his seat across the room in an armchair, perching precariously into the edge of the seat eating up every word she had spoken.

"So for an entire year, you had not even the smallest inkling that anything was going in?"

"Nothing. Not at all and I feel so stupid honestly." She pressed the bottle of wine to her lips and took a generous sip of the contents.

"And the other woman?"

"She's younger, skinnier, prettier and perkier. I can understand why he left me for her she wasn't long out of Hogwarts honestly, I looked her file up and she's just turned twenty-one," she spat bitterly.

"He left me with the apartment and everything in it of course. He said he would have felt bad if he took that too." She snorted loudly. "I'm the one that bloody bought it all, but he can shove this apartment and everything in it up has ass sideways honestly for all care."

"And there are no children, obviously?" He raised a brow in question. What had even happened to his life? Why was he sitting here talking to Hermione about her relationship breakdown? Was this what his life had become?

"Ha!" She mocked laughed as loud as she could partly due to her part intoxication right now. "I wanted one, we tried of course, and it never came to fruition. I'm not sure if it's me or what but I wanted one by the time I was thirty-six, I had my whole life mapped out and planned and now look where that got me." She upended the rest of the wine into her mouth and the held the bottle up to the light to confirm it was, in fact, empty before she got up to get another one.

"Yes, I was hoping to have had another child by now. I know that sounds like a harsh thing to say but the reality is if I don't expand the Malfoy line now before I can no longer do it the house and our entire fortune will be put into public trust and given to anyone who can prove they have even walked sideways past a Malfoy."

She traipsed back from the kitchen bottle of wine in hand. She stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned to him.

"I'm not sure if this is the alcohol talking or if I am being totally insane here but hear me out. I want a baby; you need an heir. I know I am probably the last person you want to fornicate with let alone reproduce with, but it could be in both our interests to think about coming to an agreement." She sat on the arm of his chair.

The silence that hung in the air following her statement was thick and heavy and seemed to go on forever.

"I…I suppose that could work."

Purebloods were few and far between now and the ones that were still alive were either spoken for or too closely related. He needed to put a plan into action sooner rather than later or be faced with the harsh relation the Malfoy line was going to come to a grinding halt.

"I get weekdays, you get weekends. I get Christmas morning, you get Christmas dinner. Birthdays will be celebrated together," she said matter of factly, sniffing indignantly.

"Have you had something like this worked out in your head," he asked, perplexed.

"I mean… Yes. I needed a backup plan and I had been throwing the guidelines and rules around in my head. I don't mind sharing the child with you, Lucius. I am so desperate for a child I would do anything."

He pulled her swiftly from the arm of the chair, so she fell gently onto his lap, straddling him. The bottle of wine still clutched in her hand with vice-like force.

"Sex only. None of this catching feelings nonsense and it ends once you have conceived my child." He held her chin hard, forcing her to look into his eyes.

"Deal," she confirmed, happy with the deal that had come to.

He pulled her in close and dropped a chaste kiss on her lips. "Your whole world is about to change, Hermione Granger," he whispered softly before going in for another.

**A/N: This has been bugging me for weeks this story. Swirling around in my head like a vortex and not letting me forget. I have no idea why I wanted to write something like this. I expect it won't be too long. Just something fun to pass the time.**

** It was going to be Snape, but I decided to give Lucius some extra love instead.**

** -Aliasmel1**


	2. Chapter 2

"So, are we going to do this now or…?" Lucius Malfoy asked with hesitation and uncertainty mingled in his voice as the woman clambered off his lap. Logic told him that yes, it was probably going to happen now, or she wouldn't have dragged him back to her apartment. The kiss he had bestowed upon her had no feeling and was merely a show of comradery. He had no plan to fall for Hermione now or ever. In fact, he had no plan to really hang around after the deed was done. The only thing the two had in common was the burning desire for a child and not much else.

Never in his life did he think he would ever fraternize with Hermione Granger on a deeper level than a curt nod as they passed in the halls of the ministry. But then again, he never thought he would lose his wife and only son and thus the only heir to the Malfoy fortune and was looking down the barrel of having his fortune pulled out from beneath the Malfoy name should he expire before such a time another heir was produced. Desperate times called for desperate measures and what better person to procreate with than a woman smart enough to pull top rank within their world. Sure, she was no pureblood but there wasn't a pureblood left after their insidious war that he wasn't related to one way or another and he was all for keeping things in the family, but he didn't extend that sentiment that far. Purebloods were already so closely related they were one genetic misfortune away from producing a two-headed cyclops he was certain.

"No, let's schedule it for a month from today, Lucius," she huffed with a roll of her eyes. "Of course, we are doing it now and we will keep doing it until such a time I fall pregnant. You get what you want, an heir, and I get what I want, a child to love. It really is the perfect compromise and solution to both of our issues. And neither of us must endure one another outside of parental obligations. I will make time for you in my schedule for seven pm every night until the time comes when I can produce a positive pregnancy test."

He paled considerably at this sentiment. "Witch. I am not as young as you and whilst sexual desire is there and very much achievable, I hardly doubt I will be able to satisfy your need to fornicate on a daily basis."

Chocolate eyes rolled just so at his statement. "Well you better find the stamina somewhere because you really don't have any say in the matter," she snapped harshly.

She grabbed him around the wrist and began to drag him into her bedroom. She had never been this brazen before in her life and she probably never would again, but she wanted this baby so desperately she was willing to do anything to get one. Her biological clock was ticking, and she needed to have a baby sooner rather than later. Even though it was common knowledge witches and wizards lived far longer lives than the average muggle, she was unsure if that applied to her or not coming from a line of muggles rather than a lineage of magic.

Dropping his wrist once she had passed through the threshold of her bedroom she screwed her nose up in disgust. "Wait, I can't do anything with all of these looking at us." She walked around the room pulling photos of her and Ron off the walls. Some were beaming at the camera and in others they were waving and kissing or looking very much is love and she felt the anger and the bile begin to rise. How could she have been so stupid not to see what was going on under her nose?

Lucius Snatched a photo off of the nightstand just as Hermione went to grab it, fingertips gently brushed as they did so.

He studied the photo critically for a few seconds. "Who'd have thought? You look like the quintessential cookie-cutter husband and wife in all these photos. You look so happy it's almost sickening."

He handed the photo to her just as she snatched it from his fingertips violently. "Yeah, well I didn't even think it would happen and it was happening right under my nose," she huffed as the threw the stack of photos onto a spare chair in the corner of the room and threw a towel that was draped over the chair on top of them so she didn't have to keep looking at them offending paraphernalia.

"I must remember to burn those tomorrow," she bit savagely thrusting a finger in the direction of the photos. "Honestly, who does he think he is?"

"I've honestly got no idea," Lucius bit back with feigned innocence. He felt an impromptu therapy session coming up.

"Can you believe he just tossed me aside like yesterdays Daily Prophet for someone younger and skinnier? What is wrong with me?" She walked over to a full-length mirror and began to study the image staring back critically, picking every issue staring back at her.

"Sure I might have not been around as much as I usually was. And I have a few more wrinkles and a little extra weight around the mid-section," she rested her hands on her almost flat stomach and looked at herself with a critical eye in the mirror with her nose wrinkled.

"No wonder he left me, I am looking like an old hag. May as well pension me off and send me to the retirement paddock."

Lucius sat on the bed examining the woman for a fleeting moment before rolling his eyes. "You are not a hag, nor are you fat or ugly, Hermione. You are seeing things that aren't there and trying to justify why he went following his cock to another wet hole instead of just resting on the fact he is clearly a moron and didn't deserve you in the first place. If I were you, I would have kicked my foot so far up his ass he would have had to visit a proctologist to remove it. Now do you want me to set you up a meeting with my therapist or would you rather me bide my time as play the ersatz therapist to you instead of getting the task done at hand?" He flicked a long blonde lock off his shoulder and eyed it as if it had insulted him on a personal level.

"Sorry," She blushed awkwardly. "I don't get to unleash often, well, not since the whole Ron saga. Obviously I used to vent to him but now I can't and I haven't told anyone else for fear of what will follow and all of the shit I have to go through, any way you don't want to know about my issues."

"Not particularly, no. So how do you want to start?"

She looked at him perplexed. "Do you not know how to have sex?"

He rolled his eyes at her. "I don't know how you want to do this. Slow, fast, missionary, on top, on the bottom, d-"

She held up a hand to silence him. "I don't care if you do it artificially if I am honest as long as it ends up in a positive pregnancy test you could paint your bollocks pink and wear a fuzzy hat for all I care." She sniffed indignantly.

He watched as she moved with speed and precision and zero hesitation removing her shirt followed quickly by her skirt and then her undergarments. He was a little crestfallen he didn't get to appreciate the way she undressed a little more. She stood before him totally naked and didn't seem to have a care in the world about doing so. The way she stood there radiating confidence was a far cry from the woman who was just critically critiquing herself in the mirror and picking out her every fault and flaw.

"Wow. Straight to the point." His eyes raked up and down her body welcoming the sight for a moment. Unsure why she was so hard on herself he appreciated the female form before him. There was nothing at all wrong with her It was unfathomable that she thought there was something wrong with herself. He didn't know if he should look at her or look away. He had no idea where to look if he were being honest.

She took in a shuddered breath as she realised how exposed and vulnerable, she felt right now. She had just stripped naked in front of Lucius Malfoy. The blood supremacist from not that long ago. The man who wanted to wipe her and her kind out of existence and now they were both coming to a compromise to conceive a child and bring it into the world.

There was no logical reason why she couldn't or shouldn't use Lucius Malfoy as the father of her child. There were no feelings between them at all. Both wanted the same end results and neither wanted anything else from their union. She knew Lucius Malfoy wouldn't go around shouting from the rooftops what they were doing because he had no reason to hold anything against her. At the end of the day, she needed him as much as he needed her and thus, she concluded he was the best choice within their world to produce a child of magical ability. Well, that and he basically fell into her lap just at the opportune time. She did believe that things fell into place and happened for a reason and this one situation was no different.

"So laying the rules down one more time. No feelings. No relationship. We both have the end goal in mind, and we won't deviate from that. Right?"

"Yes, yes. No relationship. No offence pet but you are far from my type." He was hopping on one foot trying to remove a shoe and sock off his foot as he talked.

"Thanks for that," She bit sarcastically. "What is your type anyway? Tall, blonde and pureblood?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. And last time I checked you didn't fit an of those prerequisites, pet. But you aren't without your charm."

"Well I'm s-" She stopped talking in an instant trying to strain her hearing. She was certain she had just heard the front door open and shut quickly.

"What were you saying?" Lucius asked, now only in his long pants and began to unbutton those.

"Shh." She held a hand up to silence him, fishing around in the clothes on the floor for her wand, breath hitched in her throat she slowly walked across the bedroom wand raised high at the ready should she need to use it.

A shadow cast in the doorway and her heart skipped a beat. Fuck. It was right at that moment she knew who it was and mentally scolded herself for not changing the wards when she had a chance.

"Hermione, what are y-" Ron appeared in the doorway, looking incredibly perplexed as to why she was standing naked in the bedroom with her wand ready to hex him, then his eyes fell to a half-naked Lucius Malfoy. What the fuck.

"What the fuck, Hermione? What is he doing here and why are you naked?" His voice raising a few octaves in both surprise and anger.

Flushing crimson she darted across the room and grabbed the towel she had thrown over the photos with such speed, the pile toppled on the floor in a baptism of broken glass and she could only groan.

"Are they photos of us?" Ron snapped; pain etched onto his face. He didn't expect her to be moving on so quickly.

"Yes. I don't need the constant reminder around that the man I married cheated on me under my nose, thank you very much." Wrapping the towel around her body she tucked it in place.

Lucius awkwardly standing in the bedroom made his was to the bed and sat on it. May as well get comfortable for the drama that was about to unfold.

"What do you want, Ronald. Shouldn't you be off with what's-her-face right now?" She barked angrily. She knew her name, she just refused to use it because it tasted like acid in her mouth.

"Well, I came around to ask you when you were going to announce our marriage had dissolved because I just found out today I'm going to be a father." He beamed.

Her heart skipped a beat, then another and then a third. Chest growing tight as if a metal band was tingling around her rib cage she stumbled a few steps backs and landed breathless on the bed as her mind tried to process what he had just told her.

"I'm sorry, what?" She shook her head as if in disbelief. Surely she heard wrong.

"She's pregnant. I'm going to be a father," he repeated a little slower. He watched as her face dropped and her mouth opened and closed slowly as if trying to force words out and they never came.

"So you come here to ask me to rush through the announcement so you can then further make me look like an idiot by announcing she is pregnant. That is just glaringly obvious that you were sneaking around behind my back but whatever." She shrugged, adjusting the towel around her breasts.

"What's he doing here?" Ron tried to change the subject, thrusting a thumb in Lucius' direction.

"Well, Ronald. Seeing as you failed for years to impregnate me I felt the need to go and find someone up to the task to give me what I so desperately desire, however, it seems that may be futile because if you got that harlot up the duff then perhaps the problem lies wholly and fully with me and I cannot produce a child."

"Well. Actually." He cleared his throat and looked to the ground, hoping it would open and swallow him whole. "I may or may not have been slipping you potions in your morning coffee to stop you conceiving. But I only did it for you, Hermione. You were always much too busy for a child and I didn't feel it was the right time to bring a child into the world. I loved you but I never loved you enough to be saddled with the responsibility of juggling a kid and having you work long hours."

"You what?" She asked so calmly and so darkly Lucius got Goosebumps all over his body at her tone alone.

"Hermione…" Ron warned sternly. A child wasn't something to bring into this world. You were much to career-focused to do so."

She sucked in a few steadying breaths, brown eyes glittering dangerously with malice. She sprung to her feet with so much for the towel fell to the ground and pooled around her feet.

"I hate you Ronald Weasley and I regret the day I ever married you!" She screamed so loud her voice instantly became hoarse. "Now get the hell out of my home."

Ron didn't have to be told twice, spinning on his heel he almost sprinted from the room leaving the two in silence. Tension so palpable you could almost reach out and touch it.

Turning to Lucius with tears welling in her eyes she forcefully pushed him on the bed and landed atop of him, pushing pink lips hungrily against his own thin ones she forced all her anger and sadness out into the kiss.

A hand came up to gently stroke the smooth skin on her back, causing her to buck into him slightly as the kiss deepened. A kiss of anger or hate and of frustration as her heart broke into a million pieces in her chest. How could someone she had loved for so long be so sneaky and so untrustworthy?

He ran a hand from her shoulder to the swell of her arse, grasping the flesh hard he pulled her close to him as she ground her hips against him. Her scent filling his nostrils and the anger palpable in the air consumed him. Lipping her over so she was now beneath him he nipped playfully at her neck as he kicked his pants off down around his ankles.

He loved sex that was full of anger and tonight wasn't going to disappoint. Kissing her once more he bit her lip hard causing her to wince and lean into his lips harder.

Sheathing himself in her wet folds he thrust hard causing her to be pushed up the bed a few centimetres with the force.

She groaned appreciatively as he matched that with another and another. Rough and hard sex was at the top of his list if he did say so himself.

The raw pure primal instinct came over him as he thrust hard repeatedly into her. She squirmed beneath him matching his pace with her own hips meeting his thrusts as if her life depended on them.

Her breath hitched in her throat she sunk white teeth into a broad shoulder, eyes closed half mast she exhaled sharply through her nose as velvet walls closed in on his length.

"For fuck sake," he bit under his breath as the walls crushed his cock so tight it sent him over the edge and beyond, seed spilling within her.

Mission accomplished.

He lay breathless atop of her for a moment in the silence of the night gaining his composure before rolling off.

"Are you ok?" He eventually broke the silence; it was clear she was seething still.

"I will be fine. Thank you," she huffed angrily.

He slid from the bed, collecting his clothes and dressing in haste.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He nodded curtly before leaving the bedroom.

Once he was gone Hermione lay face down in the pillow and sobbed until she fell asleep. She had never felt so alone.

**A/N: So many of you have reviewed and asked me to keep going, which of course I am, so don't worry about that. I write when inspiration strikes and in between real life. I hope you like this chapter. I've been trying to write it for two weeks, but it just wouldn't come. Finally, I managed to get it together.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

She lingered a little longer than usual in bed the next morning when she awoke, the memories of the night before flooding into her mind. Growling low in her throat she stayed frozen to the spot. She didn't want to get out of bed and face the world. She didn't want to crawl from the bed and face Ronald when she walked into work. She didn't want to have to pen a letter to the Daily Prophet outlining the dissolvement of her marriage. Of course, she would lie and say they amicably came to the end of their marriage just to save face.

She glanced to the photos that were sitting on the floor and the chair. Closing her eyes, she rolled over in the bed tangling herself in the sheet and fished around on the floor for her wand. Grasping it between her fingers she aimed it at the pile as it alighted in blue flames and fizzled out into a pile of ash. Years of memories and happiness reduced to a smouldering pile on the floor. That was that taken care of. Memories gone. Well, not the ones in her head but the ones that haunted her home and bedroom were at least gone. Now she just had to live with the constant reminder as she trawled the halls of the ministry daily and passed him. And now she knew what he had done to her and threw in the second stabbing blow that he was going to be a father she didn't even think she could look at him let alone offer him the curt nod of late.

"Why are you still in bed?" A soft female voice rang through her bedroom, pulling her from her sour thoughts, only groaning in response not even opening her eyes.

"Because, Susan, I am thinking of sleeping the day away and pretending the train wreck that is my life hasn't derailed in spectacular style. It was somewhere between misery station and self-pity station before it derailed. If I stay in here, at least I can forget all of that for a while," she mumbled, her voice muffled against the pillow pitifully.

Susan walked quickly across the wooden floors, high heels clicking on the lacquered wood. The thin, blonde woman worked the curtains of Hermione's bedroom open allowing the light to flood the room.

Hermione had hired Susan Bones as her personal assistant around a year ago when her life began to get so hectic she couldn't even remember to eat most of the time. Quickly she became one of Hermione's best friends who she confided everything in. Of course, a woman that hung off your every word and orchestrated your whole life was generally one you could trust and confide in. Honestly, right now she was one of the only people she could trust. But of course, she expected no less from a Hufflepuff.

"Are you naked under there you godless heathen?" Susan joked as she swept across the room to the closet and pulled out a fresh shirt and skirt for Hermione and laid them down gently on the foot of the bed. "Who did you have over last night?"

"Someone tall, dark and handsome." She threw a pillow playfully across the room. "Why are you here anyway?"

"Because you told me that if you are not in the office by eight-thirty then I should come and find you and drag you out of bed as you wallow in your own self-pity." Arms folded tightly across her chest a single foot tapped softly on the floor.

"Actually, about that. Can you draft me a letter outlining that Ronald and myself have chosen to amicably dissolve our marriage due to a relationship breakdown and conflict of interests and I am here on to be addressed as Minister Granger." Teeth gritted tightly together she looked out the now uncovered window. The soft sound of the traffic below forcing its way through a single-window that was cracked just enough to let some air through.

"Ok. Let them all know you are divorcing him because he is a cheating troglodyte, got it, I'll do that today and have it ready for you to approve. Now pull yourself out of that pity party and I will see you back at your office later today."

"If only you could write that." Hermione sighed forlornly still looking out of the window, watching a lone cloud float past without a care and she wondered if she could join it and leave this place for a while. Some days she hated being the Minister. Well, she didn't hate the job itself, but she hated the title. She hated having to remain civil in the face of adversary. Deep down she wanted to destroy Ron and his happiness because it was a bitter pill to swallow what he had done to her but at the same time, it wasn't always the best way to approve a situation when you were the Minister. She must remember that revenge is a dish best served cold.

"Come sit here, Susan." Hermione tapped a spot on the bed gently with the palm of her hand

Susan looked down at the bed critically. "You're naked under there though…" She trailed off.

"Susan. I am naked under my clothes too, but you sit next to me when I am wearing those."

Heat crept into the woman's cheeks as she sat down beside Hermione awkwardly perching precariously on the edge of the bed.

"I found out Ronald had been slipping me a contraceptive potion since I've been trying for a baby, last night when he came around. I.." she sucked in a deep shuddered breath. "I don't know what to do. Do I keep it quiet and pretend it never happened or do I drag him before the courts for what he did which was clearly very illegal and morally wrong and have every intimate detail of my marriage breakdown broadcasted everywhere and be the talk of the town or do I let it slide and turn a blind eye?" She sighed sadly running a hand through the tangled mass of curls that cursed her head.

"Well, I'm not sure, only you can work out what you want to do in that situation, Hermione. I'm sorry he did that to you it's abhorrent and-" She was cut off by Hermione.

"Oh wait, I forgot one more thing." She sat bolt upright clutching the sheet tightly around her naked body. "His little life-ruining girlfriend is pregnant."

"I didn't think this story could get any worse and then you drop that on me. Is that all you have to tell me or is there something else so untoward I probably wouldn't believe it." Lips pursed she looked critically at the other woman.

"Well. I don't think you would believe me if I told you." She shifted awkwardly in the bed.

"Try me." Susan countered narrowing her eyes just so. Surely there couldn't be anything else.

"Isleptwithluciusmalfoylastnight," She blurted out so fast it sounded like one illegible mashed together word.

"You what with what?" An eyebrow raised in question at the mess of words she had just spat at her violently and scarily.

She rolled her eyes. I-Slept-with-Lucius-Malfoy and he and I agreed to procreate and bring a child into this world together," She spoke clearly and articulately annunciating every word as it should be.

Silence.

"Well. That's certainly a lot of words for my brain to take in, filter and process." Her jaw tightened. What a PR disaster this would be if it got out into the wide world right about now.

"Indeed." Hermione agreed.

"I. It. I. Nope. I've got nothing. Lucius Malfoy? Of all the wizards in the entire world, you choose that one. And at the worst time possible I may add. If word of this gets out before your divorce is finalised it will be a nightmare. Lucius Malfoy. Really? Honestly? Usually, you are a great judge and place yourself in only desirable situations and now you decide to procreate on a whim with a Malfoy?"

"Yes. Really. It was just convenient at the time I suppose. He was there. I was there. We both want the same end result and no strings attached."

"Mmm. Right. And have you signed a contract to ensure that he is going to hold onto his word? How do you know he isn't going to pluck the child from your arms and run off? He is a Malfoy and their word means very little from what I have seen. He's a Slytherin for a reason Hermione and isn't to be trusted."

She sniffed indignantly. "Yeah, well, Ron was a Gryffindor and look how that panned out. Nothing but a slippery, cunning little liar. What's the point of a contract honestly? I basically had one with Ronald and how did that pan out?" she flicked her hair off her bare shoulder. "I promise to love you till death do us part", she growled in a high mock falsetto.

"Fair point but I think a contract would be a wise decision. You are entering into unchartered territory and you are playing for more than just a few words and a promise of being together forever. This is the life of a child. The life of a baby you have wanted for so long. How do you know Lucius will let you raise the child the way you want. It will be a Malfoy and you can bet your last galleon that he will want it raised the Malfoy way. Not only that what if you develop feelings for him? What if-"

"We already made a pact not to catch feelings Susan so that already is taken care of thank you very much." She folded her arms across her chest smugly.

"Yeah. Right. And that will ensure without a doubt you will never ever in a million years catch feelings with the man you plan on sleeping with multiple times and falling pregnant too. Mmmhmm I believe you one hundred percent, Hermione. We aren't going to take basic science into the equation that says when you sleep with someone your body releases oxytocin and basically attracts you to the person you are sleeping but yep mmhmm I believe you when you say you won't catch feelings. I'll see you in the office." She stood, smoothing her hands over her skirt and left Hermione to her own devices.

o-o-o-o-o

Lucius Malfoy awoke and stretched his arms high in the air, his spine rhythmically clicking into place gently. Well, that was an awkward but satisfying turn of events last night with Hermione Granger.

He sighed forlornly. The large bed he slept in empty and cold just like his life. That was probably half of the reason he had agreed to sleep with the woman, ways and means to fill the desolate void within him. It was lonely in a large house, the empty halls echoed more than usual lately he was certain. As much as he liked his own company sometimes he needed interaction with another human being to fill the small void in his life.

But the thing that bothered and unsettled him the most was his fortune falling into the hands of someone not even related by blood. That irked him the most and thus made him choose to sleep with Hermione and try to bring a child into the world. Usually, he wouldn't be desperate enough to fornicate with a half-blood and it was unheard of to do so with a Mudblood let alone agree to bring a child into the world with her, but he was desperate. Never in the history of Malfoys had anyone ever reproduced with a half blood, and never, ever in ten million years would anyone think a Malfoy would be scraping the bottom of the gene pool, but here he was dragging the Malfoy name down in desperation as he clung feverishly to the sanctity of the name.

Perhaps a contract would be in order, actually. What if she decided she wanted a claim to the Malfoy fortune by ways and means of sleeping with him? He didn't care about the child, she could raise that how she wanted but she wasn't sinking her fangs into his fortune, not now and not ever. No. He would have to sit her down and talk about a contract tonight and lay it all out on the table with what each would take away from their union before they took this any further. It was one thing to lose his fortune to a stranger but another to lose it to Hermione Granger.

**A/N: Just a filler chapter to build the story a little more. **

**-Aliasmel1**


	4. Chapter 4

Tapping her fingers on her desk rhythmically she stared despondently at the envelope sitting before her on the large wooden desk. The envelope that would render her separation from Ron real and that chapter of her life would start to come to a close.

She knew she should be sending this letter directly to the editor of the Daily Prophet for print and delivery the very next morning but something inside of her wouldn't let her do it. It wasn't the fact that her life would change immensely, or the attention she would garner. No, there was something else sitting deep down within her soul that made her angry. She didn't want the world to know about her marital issues but as the minister, she and as such, her life, were basically front and centre on a pedestal for their world to see.

"Let me just take this." Susan made a grab for the letter, but Hermione lunged for it, their fingers brushed as Hermione came out the victor and clutched the letter tight in her hand.

"No. I don't think I am ready to send it yet. He owes me an explanation and I haven't been given one. I deserve an apology and he hasn't offered one. I deserve so much more than he has left me with, and I need closure. It's all well and good for him, he gets to trot off and start a new life without as much as a backwards glance but I am left wondering why I wasn't good enough and what I did to have this treatment bestowed upon me."

"So what do you propose you do, Hermione? I don't want to pry but right now you need some direction in your life, or you will fall apart. I know you think you know better and you might, but I know you well. You will end up doing something you regret terribly. You probably already have by fraternising with Lucius Malfoy but what is done is done. You can't tell me you thought that one through to the fullest. I know you are going through a lot right now and I know Ron hurt you deeply, but you need to think how all of this will affect your image when people know you are copulating with Lucius. You will be the talk of the ministry with this whole Ron saga but to add Lucius to the mix is incomprehensible." Susan sat gently on the edge of Hermione's desk looking down at her with just a touch of judgement mixed in her eyes.

"Look I-" Hermione began but was abruptly cut off.

"You can't tell me you didn't choose to sleep with Lucius to get back at Ron? Tell me that much, Hermione."

"Well…I.. no. I did it for myself. I am not here to get back at anyone, I was just trying to move on that's all." She sighed haughtily and rested her forehead on the smooth flat surface of her desk.

Susan glared at her awkwardly. Was this it? Was this Hermione giving up and having a meltdown?

After a few minutes, she sat up again, straightened herself up and folded her arms tightly across her chest. "Go fetch Ron for me. Take Titus with you in case he tries anything stupid and bring him back here. I have an idea."

Susan only looked incredulously at her before screwing her nose up and leaving the room, the burly man hot on her heels.

o-o-o-o-o

"We need to talk, Ron." Hermione motioned to an empty seat opposite her desk and he took it, perching uneasily on the edge as worry etched into the lines of his pale face.

"As the Minister, or as my wife?" He looked pointedly at her an eyebrow raised slightly in question.

She snorted. "Your wife? You are kidding me, right?" She smoothed her hands over her skirt and sat down, fingers tapping against the desk once more drawing Ron's attention to three envelopes lined perfectly on the desk.

"Look. Hermione. I am happy to talk but do they need to be here?" He inclined his head towards a tall, solid man towering over Hermione; Titus. Titus generally followed Hermione everywhere just in case things ever went wayward. It was well known there was a small minority within their world that didn't approve of a female running the place. He was not only intimidating but very handy with a wand and she found it usually kept most people from bothering her. Titus was probably the best Auror to ever come out of Durmstrang and Hermione chose him for his academics alone. And then he inclined his head to Susan.

"Don't worry about Titus, he won't be able to hear a thing and Susan gets to sit in for moral support whether you like it or not. Now. We are going to play a game. Whatever you say will be tallied against you and I will come to an outcome. Whatever outcome I arrive at will be the envelope I send to the Daily Prophet as to how our relationship dissolved. Answer wisely because one of these envelopes could tarnish your whole life as you know it." She smiled smugly as he squirmed beneath her gaze.

"You came up with that in the short time I was gone?" Susan glanced incredulously at her sideways almost in disbelief.

"Indeed. Now." Hermione clapped her hands loudly, Ron almost jumped out of his chair in turn. "Ron, I feel I deserve some closure on this. Yeah? I came home one day, and you tell me you have been having an affair for a year and that it is over. Just. Like. That," Her voice raised a few octaves as she fully pronounced the last three words with anger and articulation, her face began to flush red with anger.

" 'Mi-, Hermione. I didn't mean for it to happen it just did. She was there, you weren't…" He trailed off, not brave enough to look her in the eye for fear of the monster that swam deep within her eyes and the guilt the gnawed at him.

"Don't give me that cliched you weren't there for me shit. I was always there for you, Ron," She bit, exasperated. Throwing her hands in the air angrily. "Always. Family gatherings, celebrations, commiserations I was always there."

"You were there, yes. But you weren't there for me as a wife, in the capacity that I needed. It was always I need to stay back at work. I need to run off here and run off there. It was never come home and sit with me and talk." Gently he looked up just catching a glimmer of hurt in her eyes before they flicked dangerously again.

"So you found someone to fill that void in your life. Well, I hope she was worth it." She sniffed indignantly tearing her gaze from his own. His mere presence was making her stomach churn violently.

"Hermione. Please don't make this any harder than it must be. She was there, you weren't, and I wanted to tell you sooner than I did, I really did but the time never felt right. I never wanted to break your heart but-"

She cut him off, holding her hand up. "Did you ever love me? Were you ever in love with me?" Her voice cracked as she forced the words out past her lips.

He sat still unmoving as if trying to form the right words in his head. "I loved you, yes. But I don't think I was ever in love with you, Hermione. How could I? You put everything before me. Everything. And you wonder why I didn't want to have a child with you? You would have done the same thing to the poor bloody thing. I know you too well. I held on for years in a hope eventually I could fall in love with you, I tried to be a good husband and it never worked. It was never good enough for you." He began to yell, spittle flying across the desk, cheeks getting redder than the hair that grew from his head.

She studied him for a moment as he yelled. He was tall and lean still, he hadn't grown a single strand of grey hair from his head. The lines in his face a little deeper and the freckles a little paler but he was still the man she had fallen in love with. Head over heels in love. The man she wanted to have a family with and the man she wanted to grow old with. Instead, she ended up with a man who she didn't even really know at all. A cold and calculating man who went as far to stop her from conceiving a child with him; did he hate her that much?

"Do you hate me?" Her voice eerily soft and level as her head tilted to the side. Tears shimmered in the corners of her eyes like tiny diamonds catching the light in her office.

"I… I well. Hate is a strong word, Hermione. I hate the fact you put work before me. Before our relationship. I resent you for it, but I don't hate you."

"I wasn't aware you were so needy, Ronald. I was certain you were a fully functioning adult who didn't need me to sit with you all day every day comforting you and telling you how amazing you were. I didn't know you needed someone to constantly hold your hand through life and lead you along the way. I was wrong in the assumption that you were an adult capable of caring for yourself. I had to work. I love my job and I am terribly sorry you felt you came second to it, but I loved you with every inch of my heart! I don't hate people Ron, but right now I hate you." She was shaking like a leaf as the tears began to fall and smear against her cheeks. Eyes red and vision blurry she sat watching him shift awkwardly in his seat.

"Why was Lucius in our home last night?" He asked as if she had just been talking about the weather and not pouring her heart out. He clenched his jaw tightly, annoyance playing in the lines of his face.

"It is my house you giant twat. I bought it, not you. And what do you think he was over for? A fucking tea party? It is none of your business who I have over. You relinquished those rights when you decided to follow your penis to the closest wet hole. I can't believe I gave the best years of my life to someone who couldn't even love me back. To someone who lied to my face daily, to someone who had no regard for me or my feelings. It is almost like you are a stranger to me now so it will be easy to do this, and I am not even sorry one bit! You willingly and knowingly administered a potion to me knowing it would alter my body and stop me from conceiving a child. You didn't have the balls to man up and leave me years ago when you knew you probably weren't happy and probably wouldn't be with me much longer. You laid down beside me every night and told me you loved me, and you knew it was a lie. I cannot even describe the hurt in my heart right now Ronald." She jutted her chin out as the tears flowed down her cheeks, she tried to school herself, but it was in vain because the tears just continued so slide silently down her cheeks.

She sucked in a jagged and wet breath, studying him for a minute; his face stoic. Not even a hint of remorse from him which annoyed her royally. She wanted to lunge across the desk, grab him by the shirt collar and shake some sense into him. Anger and sadness mingled together, and a large lump formed in her throat as an invisible band seemed to be tightening around her ribcage.

Hermione clicked her fingers loudly, dropping the charm she had cast to stop Titus from hearing the conversation. "Titus. Take Mr Weasley to the Magical Law Enforcement office with this letter." She pulled the middle envelope off the desk and handed it to the large man. His large fingers grabbed the letter with surprise gentleness and finesse that you wouldn't expect of someone of his size.

"Good luck, Ron. Your fate lays within the hands of our legal system now. I wasn't going to do anything about it, but you violated my trust and caused me to consume a contraceptive potion I knew nothing about and that is illegal, no matter how small of an issue you think it is. I now face the real possibility I might not ever conceive a child because what you force-fed me could very well have ruined my chances. May they judge go easy on and your girlfriend be waiting on the other side of what is about to unfold."

She stood up, hands hanging idly by her sides as she watched Ron being taken away by Titus. She knew his sentence probably wouldn't be harsh, but deep down she knew at least some type of justice would be served.

A blanket of sadness seemed to shroud the two women now left standing in Hermione's office, alone. Hermione turned to Susan, tears staining her cheeks and eyes glassy. "I… He…" She muttered under her breath before full breaking down.

Susan closed the gap between them, wrapping her arms around Hermione and rubbing a soothing open palm on her back. "He's a piece of shit, Hermione. Don't waste your tears on him."

"All those years. Wasted," She sniffed against Susan's shoulder. "What a waste."

A/N: My first chapter for the new year. Hurray! Slowly starting to piece the story together. I am not sure how often I will update but I promise, it will get updated eventually.

-Aliasmel1


	5. Chapter 5

"Lucius, come in," she answered the front door of her home gruffly with a snarl, a harsh frown plastered on her pink lips. Peeking outside of the front door, once he had entered, she looked left and right and shut the door with a loud bang behind herself causing the wall surrounding the door to vibrate gently.

"What's happened now?" He asked softly, picking up on the heavy mood that was emanating throughout the home, pulling his travelling cloak off and hanging it neatly on a hook of the coat stand beside her front door.

"My decisions happened. There is probably going to be a very angry Weasley family bashing my front door down at any moment because I had their precious Ronald hauled off by Titus to be charged for sneaking contraceptive potions to me." She padded gently across the room to her kitchen where it appeared, she was well into imbibing her problems away with half a bottle of red wine already consumed.

"Ah. That will do it." He plucked the bottle of wine from the kitchen counter and began to read the label to try to break up the now awkwardness he felt standing there otherwise idle beneath her fiery and angry gaze. "You know, if you are trying to get pregnant your probably shouldn't be drinking," he said pointedly, looking at her with half a raised brow.

She snatched the bottle off him and topped off her already generous sized glass before downing half of it in one sip liberally. Her cheeks flushed pink against her normally pale skin the more she drank.

"I'm not pregnant yet and who knows if I ever will. Now I've to go get tested to ensure I can actually bear a child and his stupidity hasn't ruined my ability to reproduce." She slammed the glass down so hard the stem cracked slightly but not all the way through.

"So should we still do this, or should I come back another time?" He raised a brow at her high into his hairline and she mirrored his brow raise back at him as if he asked her a stupid question. He wasn't sure if he wanted his penis to be near someone as angry as she was right now for fear she might tear it off with her bare hands.

"Well. You are here so we may as well put you to good use." She shrugged taking another sip of her wine, carefully navigating her fingers away from the crack in the stem, so she wouldn't cut her fingertips.

"Wow. I can honestly feel how wanted I am right now," sarcasm dripping from every word as he rounded to the other side of the counter where she was standing and started fishing around in his pockets for a moment. "But first. I think we need to talk about contracts so we know what is expected and what will happen should such time come when you conceive a child that is mine."

She eyed him apprehensively as if he had just personally offended her on an intimate level. Placing her glass back on the counter she snatched the papers he had produced and began to read them over. Her eyes darting backward and forward but never looking up.  
A few minutes passed in silence before she lowered them and peered at him over the papers.

"I agree with most of it. But the part here that says I can't come after you for any part of your estate or fortune is a little redundant. I am the Minister for Magic, Lucius. I could literally take the lot from under you and there is nary a thing you could do to stop me; however, I am not that type of person. And this part right here about you contributing money to help raise the child. Again, redundant because I don't want nor need nor seek any little bit of your fortune no matter how minute it might be. I don't want a single galleon of yours." She huffed, irate.

"It wasn't an option. The child is a Malfoy, and the child will be raised wanting nothing just like every Malfoy before it," he lowered his voice into an almost growl almost daring her to push

"Mmm. Well, we will see," she muttered coldly, jutting her chin out in defiance and putting the papers down on the countertop before plucking a stray pen off the counter and signing the contract. She didn't want his money to help raise the child and she certainly didn't want a stake to his fortune. She wanted none of his charity thank you very much. It was almost an insult that he would even have that thought in his head let alone put it into a contract but at the same time, she knew he was only protecting his assets.

"A pen, really? You are a witch. Embrace your heritage and use a quill."

She exhaled sharply out of her nose and looked at him pointedly. "First off, I came from a line of muggles, so using the humble ball-point pen basically _is_ my heritage. And secondly, why would I want to carry around a quill, an ink-well and possibly spare nibs should the need arise when I can just whip this bad boy out and write instantly." She wiggled the pen violently in his face trying to get her point across.

He cringed visibly. There it was. That reminder again that she wasn't of pure blood. The one thing that forced doubt into his mind as to if he should procreate with the woman. "Perhaps heritage wasn't the word I was looking for. I just feel some things are better steeped in tradition." He shrugged.

"Tradition isn't always great, Lucius. It was tradition to burn witches at the stake but thankfully those practices fell by the wayside. Sometimes, change is a good thing." She folded the papers up and handed them back to him and watched as he tucked them back in his pocket.

"Sometimes, but not always." He looked pointedly at the woman and noticed the fire in her eyes mixed with possible contempt.

"What is that meant to mean?" She tilted her head to the side, licking her lips as if threating him to say the wrong thing.

"I meant nothing at all by it, Hermione. I just meant that sometimes tradition should be upheld, and it can be a good thing." Oh shit. Now he realised why she was so hostile now… The whole Malfoy tradition to fornicate and reproduce with purebloods only. "I didn't mean what you thought I meant Hermione so forgive me if I caused offence."

She held him under her gaze for a moment, wondering what he was thinking right at this moment. Interested to know what he really thought of her. She wanted to know how he really felt about giving her the child she so desperately desired. Wow. Times were tough for both when they had to resort to one another to fulfil what they both came to seek.

She was staring at him awkwardly and he wondered what she was running through her mind. Did she hate him as much as the look on her face right now indicated? Was she ashamed that she had to resort to him as her last option to create a child? Was she disgusted with herself for sleeping with him?

He couldn't stand being held under her awkward gaze for nary a second longer. So, he kissed her. The first thing he noticed was her soft lips that were wet and cooled by the wine she had been drinking. The fruity undertones still lingering on her lips. The kiss was slow to start as they adjusted to one another and in an instant, all of Hermione's worries began to melt away. Ron who? She would have said if someone had asked her about him right at that second.

His tongue pushed its way into her mouth and the bitter, fruity taste almost ensnared his senses and made his head spin slightly. He generally didn't partake in a red wine unless it was accompanied by a meal, but right now he didn't mind.

His long, strong arms wrapped around her body lifting her onto the countertop and the kiss never once broke as he did so.

Her head began to swim and goosebumps covered her body. This was exciting, this was titillating, and this was one of her fantasies she had never had Ron play out because he refused. He always said the kitchen was for food, not having sex. Actually, he held steadfast to the sentiment that every room was for its intended purpose only. The kitchen was for food, the bathroom was for bathing. Honestly, he was such a drag… And yet, she had loved that about him.

The kiss broke as a hand rested gently on her bare knee hidden just so beneath the black skirt she was wearing and fingers feather-light traced the outline of her knee before gently moving up her inner thigh and he listened to the breath hitch in her throat and she tried to close the gap between them. A kiss here, and a small touch there and it seemed she was putty in his hand.

His hand travelled further and further up her thigh until it met with her panties; the only thing stopping him from touching her where she so desperately wanted to be touched. Sliding his second hand up along her milky thighs he grabbed the offending item in both hands and pulled them down so they skidded over her knees and fell silently to the floor.

Her stomach clenched in anticipation as his fingers once again drew up her thighs ever so slowly it was torture for her.

She pulled back just enough to fumble with the buttons on his white shirt and undo them clumsily just as his fingers halted on her thigh, peppering her neck with small, fast kisses along the nape and down along the collar bone. His finger stilled on her thigh he felt her squirm beneath him as if willing his fingers to sink into her hot, wet heat.

"Tell me what you want," he breathed huskily in her ear, lips grazing the shell of her ear just so. Enough to make her suck in a shuddery breath.

"Do you want me to touch you?"

"Y… Yes. Please," her words escaped as a forced breath. She had never wanted someone to touch her as much as she wanted to be touched right now and she wanted to be disgusted in herself that it was the touch of Lucius Malfoy she was craving, she wanted to hate herself for that… She wanted to mentally scold her- oh my god.

Two fingers slid into her moist centre causing her to clutch him tighter to her own body in a bid to keep him close. A thumb gently began to rub her clit and she stopped breathing for the interim. This was like nothing she had felt before. Ron was always straight to the point, copulate and rollover. He was never one for foreplay but no matter how much she had suggested it, he never offered it.

Eyes shut tight she clutched his body with all her strength in a bid to steady herself. Each swipe of his thumb was dangerously close to sending her over the edge.

It was peculiar for him to have someone clutching onto you with such innocents, with such a need that in the moment you were almost their lifeblood. To be hung onto like you were all they needed right in the moment was humbling but to see Hermione Granger doing just that was powerful because she didn't need anybody and that in itself was exciting.

As she writhed beneath him, talons digging into the flesh of his broad shoulder as she clung to him like a koala, he used his spare hand to free his now erect cock from its cloth prison, pants falling down to his ankles. She was at the perfect height for him to sheath himself within her tight heat. Recoiling his hand from her wetness it shot around to her ass, grasping a cheek hard he pulled her forward lighting fast and she let out a rapid breath in surprise.

Taking his other hand, he guided the head of his cock to her hot entrance and thrust in hard. He noticed she relaxed against him a little when he did so.

Hands clawed feverishly at his back as lips pressed needily to his own, three thrusts in and a knocking on the front door roused them for their hormone-induced stupor.  
"Shhh," Hermione whispered in his ear softly. "Keep going, whoever it is will go away."

He didn't have to be told twice. He went to thrust the fourth time and stopped dead in his tracks when the voice of Molly Weasley carried angrily from the other side of the door if that wasn't a mood dampener he didn't know what was.

"It's ok," she breathed huskily, lips swollen with kisses as nails dug heavily into his shoulder with delight. Half crescents marring the pale skin of his shoulder as he continued to thrust deep within her. He would be lying if he thought fucking her would be this easy. It felt… natural. Which was odd considering he thought it would be a task and a half to bring himself to sleep with her.

"They will leave in a minute." She bit his shoulder hard in a bid to stop herself from screaming out as he managed another five thrusts sending her closer to the edge of no return, not wanting to alert them to the fact she was there in the house and ignoring them.

Abruptly, Lucius stopped but still clutched her tightly to his chest.

"Lucius?" She looked up at him to see him staring across the kitchen and she followed his line of sight.

Oh, fucking hell. That was interesting. Shit was well and truly about to hit the fucking fan.

The wards, the fucking wards. How could she be so stupid? Ron must have added his family to the wards and never told her and now here she was getting fucked ten ways from Sunday by Lucius Malfoy. This was going to go down well.

"What the fuck?" He whispered gently in her ear lips grazing the outer shell of her ear teasing her when she knew she couldn't act any further.

"Good evening," Hermione tried to sound as casual as someone could sound when they were walked in on having intercourse with the least likely person they probably ever would be with sexually.

She gently pushed Lucius away and slid off the countertop, pulling her skirt down to her knee's once more. The bench on the kitchen offering them both some modesty at the current time.

"How can I help you?" Hermione followed up her question cheeks blazing red. She was certain she would have to revive Molly off the floor at any moment.

"Molly. Arthur." Lucius curtly nodded his head at them as if they hadn't walked in on him pleasuring their daughter in law on the kitchen countertops. He seemed to sense a theme here… People loved to walk in at the worst moments.

"What is going on here?" Molly whispered and Hermione wasn't sure if the question was directed at her, or if she was simply talking to herself in disbelief.

"Look. Molly, Arthur. I know why you are here. You are upset over Ron but yo-"

"Now we know why you had our Ron hauled away. So, you could cheat on him with… with… that." She pointed a finger harshly at Lucius who had now pulled his pants up.

"With all due respect, Molly. I don't like you, and you hate me, but I am sure I am worthy of a salutation other than 'that'." He made air quotes with his fingers. "And you honestly think I am low enough to stoop to the level to steal a married woman? I'm not that crass and you know it."

"Look. Ron cheated on me. He obviously hasn't told you that little snippet of information yet, has he? How he will be a father sooner rather than later and I'm not the mother! I bet he didn't tell you he was sneaking me contraceptive potion every morning to prevent me from having a child when he damn well knew that is what I desired most in life!" She stamped her foot hard on the ground showing her anger.

"Well, dear…" Molly began in her most patronising tone. "To be fair, a woman like you focused wholly and fully on her career shouldn't really be committing to motherhood. It takes everything you have, and your mind can't be elsewhere. What would you do with a child? Leave it at home with a house-elf all day whilst you are out at work? That is not a life for a child, you need to commit years of undivided attention and-"

"Stop. Just stop before you embarrass yourself anymore, Molly. Are you saying you agree with what he did to me? You come into MY home and start this shit about how I shouldn't have a child because my life and ideas don't conform to that of an over-bred and over-used broodmare who could have benefited from a contraceptive potion at one stage in your life when you kept pumping out children you couldn't afford!" She was almost screaming at the elder witch now, face beet red with pure anger coursing through her veins and Lucius was sure he was going to have to drag her out of this situation before she killed Molly.

"Arthur can you believe what she is saying, this is an outrage! This… This is pure and utter disrespect, this is-"

"Molly. Just leave. Leave now and diffuse the situation before someone ends up hurt," Lucius offered sternly.

"You can't talk to my wife like that!" Arthur stepped forward, whipping his wand from his pocket and aiming it steadily at Lucius who didn't even bat an eye at his gallant display of chivalry.

"Arthur. Whilst your show of chivalry is inspiring, I suggest you lower your wand." Lucius grabbed the other man's wand between thumb and forefinger and forced him to lower it.

The two men stared at one another. Lucius's fiery eyes almost willing Arthur to do it, take the shot he had always wanted. Lucius knew he was too soft to do such a thing.

"Good. Now. On your way." Lucius raised a single brow high into his hairline as if threatening him to say otherwise.

"Please," Hermione's voice full of desperation. She had been through enough today and didn't want to have to endure much more before going to bed and forgetting about it all for a few hours.

Without another word said, and knowing full well they wouldn't get far with Lucius there, they both turned and walked out of the door they had stormed through. Both knowing full well even though the war had ended years ago, Lucius Malfoy was still dangerous and never to be trusted.

"I'm assuming the mood has been killed?" Hermione asked gently.

"Well and truly. Molly Weasley is very much an erection killer but for what it is worth it was very good before we were intruded upon." He straightened his robes and left into the night with little more than a wave over his shoulder.

Well. Today sucked.


	6. Chapter 6

She felt as if she were on exile, walking the long path to the executioner, but she was merely walking through the ministry towards her office. Brown eyes scanned left and right, step after agonising step under the heavy gaze of every person she passed weighed heavily and she felt as if a metal band was wrapped around her chest and tightening with every breath she exhaled.

Hushed whispers erupted as she walked by, people congregated in groups staring her down and she didn't know if it was out of pity for her and what had happened or if they just wanted to whisper and spread further rumours around the ministry. It was no secret many people hated the fact they had a female Minister; the first in history. This stigma that was now surrounding her was unfathomable. If she were a male, not one person would have cared as she walked through the Ministry, but because she was female, it was a whole new ballgame and she hated that even nowadays women were treated differently to men. Equal opportunity my ass, she thought bitterly to herself as she clenched her hands into tight fists, nails digging into the soft palms of her hands.

The article she had released to the paper had been sent out early that morning and she wondered if she could get the floor to swallow her up and take her away to another dimension where she could pretend to be someone else and her life wasn't this spectacular shitshow that is was currently. Add that into the mix with the Weasleys catching Lucius Malfoy balls deep in her and going hard at it, you could say her life had just about hit the lowest point it ever had since the first breath she ever drew. Now she was alone, had no family and he only friend in the world was Susan. Lucius Malfoy only barely tolerated her because he wanted something from her and that was it.

The article had fully and wholly outlined the breakdown of her marriage, the lies and deceit of Ronald Weasley and then the fact he was now expecting a child from another woman. Of course, people would try to turn it back around onto her, the Weasleys already did, of course, they did, they were perfect at victim-blaming and their Ron could do no wrong in their eyes. Of course, it was all her fault. Every. Last. Problem.

She needed to get to her office where she could shut herself away for the day and sneak out after everyone had gone home for the night so she wouldn't be subject to even more hushed whispering and stares but every step she took, she could feel every set of eyes pressing painfully into the back of her as she walked by and she hated it. She needed to take the lift, but she knew it would be easy to be interrogated in there by anyone who may step in beside her and she really did not feel like explaining her life story right now. She wished she had asked Titus to meet her at the entrance because no one was game to talk to her when he flanked her side.

Instead, she took a left at the elevator and a right and another left and stopped abruptly looking left and right to ensure no one was around, she slid a false panel of the wall out of the way and stepped through into a dark and narrow tunnel that she had been alerted to when she became the Minister and shut abruptly behind herself. An escape route of sorts should things go awry. It led to another false panel down a darkened hallway she could remove near her office and she could slink in without another person ever seeing her.

She pulled her wand from her pocket and lit the tip. The tunnel otherwise inky black, cold and sterile; void of any life. Her footsteps bounced off the cement walls along with the blueish light from her wand playing lazily on the dull, grey cement. She figured if she walked as slow as she could it would extend the time until she had to deal with whatever today's issues would be thrust upon her desk as well as her entire life caving in around her. For what it was worth at least she was regularly getting laid of late and that was better than what she was getting from Ron, the once a week wonder, and that was if he was feeling up to it…Of course, now she knew why and that because he was too busy fornicating with the homewrecker to bother with her.

She stopped and leaned against the cold wall, hard wall and just stood there contemplating life for a moment. The whole Ron thing mixed with being the Minister and add Lucius Malfoy to the mix was almost impossible for her to bear and she wondered if she could just resign from being Minister effective immediately. She knew sure as hell she would not care if she threw it all in now and walked away. She had spent years working her way up to this position, clawing her way up the ladder to get to where she needed to get, stepping on toes and generally being a tyrant because she wanted the position more than anything and now she had it, she didn't care for it because every moment of her life was under the microscope. Every time she breathed the wrong way it would be reported on. Now, well, now she knew article after article would be produced about her life and where her marriage failed and just wait until she fell pregnant to Lucius. That is when the bloodsucking parasites of reporters would leech on and drag her down for a story. She could see the headlines now and how they would turn this whole story around and make Ron out to be like a saint and her Lucifer in disguise. They would take the angle she was sinking her claws into Lucius and bearing his child so she could claim his fortune and she was little more than a gold digger who wanted a stake to the Malfoy fortune.

She sighed loudly, tilting her head back so it rested against the wall. She could not stand this. Her heart was pounding, and her head was spinning from the stress of it all.

Footsteps coming in from the opposite end of the tunnel roused her suspicions. Her head instantly snapping to the direction of the sound. They sounded heavy, obviously a male and she frozen on the spot. No one was meant to know about this tunnel except her, Susan, and Titus, but these footsteps were softer than Titus but heavier than Susan's. Fuck. If she was killed in here her body would probably never be found because no one would even think to look in here. Oh well, at least her suffering would come to an end.

She held her wand up and saw the figure slowly swaggering down the tunnel towards her, if they were here to kill her they weren't trying to hide the fact they were here and about to execute her. Actually, right now, she would honestly welcome that.

"Put the wand down, Witch. I'm not going to hurt you," Lucius's voice echoed down the walls of the long tunnel and she visibly relaxed., dropping her wand slightly by her side.

"How did you know I was down here?" She asked, curious. Her own voice echoing off the cold, sterile walls.

"Well. I was hanging around your office waiting to see what shitshow would be unfolding this morning because I needed a little entrainment in my life when someone said they saw you but you hadn't yet made it to the office and I thought to myself where would someone hide who didn't want to be found in a hurry and found you in the exact place I knew you would be."

"Wow. We have a detective over here," She bit dryly. "And you know about the tunnel how?" She snapped.

"Believe it or not I've used this tunnel a few times myself. When you brush shoulders with some of the people I have you find out about things like this. I knew you would be heading down here. I knew you wouldn't take the lift because you couldn't handle everyone focusing their attention solely on you and talking about you in hushed whispers." He stopped and leant next to her. His arm brushed gently against her own and stayed there and she was thankful for the touch of another human who wasn't judging her right now. A pompous arse, yes. Judging, no.

"Just so you are aware. You have two reporters, an Auror and Weasley's little harlot hanging around your office waiting for you and I think she may want to claw your eyes out. Susan is beside herself because she cannot find you and everyone is demanding to see you right now. I almost think she is on the verge of throwing herself out of the window," His tone low and casual as if he were talking about the weather outside or what he may be having for lunch. Almost as if it were normal for him to see someone jump out of the window.

She paled considerably in the cool light of the wand and closed her eyes. She was not going out there now. She never gave one thought to how this would affect Ron's new partner and their child, and she didn't really give a fucking shit. They both should have thought about that before they went sneaking around behind her back and fornicating like horny rabbits in the springtime.

"Well. If that is the case, I am not leaving this tunnel until at least lunchtime when hopefully the novelty has worn off for most people," she harrumphed loudly.

"So you're just going to stand here in the tunnel for the next few hours?" Lucius inquired, perplexed.

"No. Watch and learn." She slowly began to run the palm of her hand against the cold, cement wall as if looking for something that he could not see in the dim light of her wand. Stopping when she found the seam in the wall, the indicator for what she needed she pressed her wand to the wall and watched as the heavy cement slab slowly slid to the left revealing a wooden door that she pushed open. Walking in, torches lining the walls ignited and illuminated the room.

Lucius followed her and shut the door gently behind them, aghast that there was a panic room that he had no idea about. How was he not told about this prior?

"I didn't know this was here." He looked taken aback as she strode across the room.

"You couldn't have brushed too many high-profile shoulders then," she bit, shooting him a bemused glance. "Basically, if anything were to happen in the world you would want to be in here. It is impenetrable to warfare, natural disasters and magic, built solely for the purpose of protecting the current minister should they be in the ministry when something goes awry with enough supplies to get at least four people through a month without having to leave. You can do magic in here, but magic directed to the door should it be discovered will do nothing. Apparating is not possible in here either," She said matter of factly, walking across the room to the large, plush black couch that was arranged in an 'L' shape, pushed up against the wall that was clad in the same burgundy wallpaper as her office. Kicking off her heels, she flopped down on it with zero grace and elegance that a woman should probably possess.

A large black rug set in the middle of the room over the top of a neutral beige carpet. Three doors set opposite that led to the bathroom, a small kitchen and a supply store that had everything needed to get by.

"Well, if we are ever under attack I will be sure to seek refuge in here with you." He sat down gently beside her his mind swimming with a million questions he wanted to ask her. For the first time ever, he had her alone with no strings attached at all and he wanted to get to know the woman that was going to potentially be the mother to his child who would, in turn, end up an heir to the Malfoy fortune.

He couldn't help but notice the defeat in her eyes as she sat cross-armed staring at the wall as if she wanted it to open and suck her in never to be seen again. He couldn't help but feel some empathy for the woman who he had been spending more time with than anyone else of late. Getting to know here on an intimate level more so than anyone else.

Gently, he rested a large hand on her bare, pale knee and squeezed it tight in a show of solidarity and compassion. She looked down, then up at him and smiled meekly before sighing heavily as if the weight of the whole world was placed solely on her shoulders.

"Look. I know we aren't exactly best friends and I know we probably don't see eye to eye, but I am here if you want to talk, Hermione. I know your life isn't going to plan right now and I know it has upset you greatly, but you aren't alone." Sliding a comforting arm around her shoulders she froze at the innocent gesture and then relaxed against him. Right now, apart from Susan, he was the closest thing she had to a friend and that was pretty dismal if she did say so herself.

The two sat shrouded in silence. The only sound that could be heard was the soft breathes they took. Hermione wondered what wrong turn she had taken, what fork in the road she took the wrong path for her life to end up like this.

Eventually, she spoke. "Every morning I get up, I put on these stupid heels that I can barely walk in mind you, I put on this ridiculous skirt and I trot through the halls of the ministry. I listen to people's problems, I try to fix things, I try to help, and I am always looked down upon because I am a woman. I am never taken seriously in this position and some days I second guess and doubt myself that I should even be here. Not a day goes by that I don't want to throw this stupid position in and pass it off to someone else so they can be harshly scrutinised under a microscope and have their every last movement condemned. I would love to never have to listen to another gripe or sign off on another law or peruse another flipping budget." She groaned loudly in frustration and anger.

She relaxed more against his chest, the rise and fall almost rhythmic to her with every breath he took and she felt at ease, her stress slowly washing away almost being dragged out like a wave on a shore.

"Since I took on this position my life has been nothing but a spectacular shit show and I hate it. My husband has left me, I've lost friends over all of this. I don't even know if I can have children now and I am sitting here relaying every one of my life's issues to a man who once wanted my lights snuffed out never to take another breath. Not only that I somehow agreed to try to bear a child with him to become the heir to his ridiculously vast fortune, despite materialism being high up there in my list of pet hates. If someone had once told me this is where my life was heading, I never would have believed it. But here we are." She snorted derisively.

"To be fair. I didn't think I would be sleeping with the Minister for magic who was also the girl I once wanted to see dead, so I am just as shocked as you are on that one. I also didn't expect to be caught mid-shag in your kitchen by your husband's parents but there is a first time for everything I suppose." A small smirk played on his lips. Gently, he brushed a curl from her face and tucked it behind her ear tenderly.

"I almost think you enjoyed that part last night," She said dryly, closing her eyes at the gentle swipe of his fingers across her cheek.

"Quite. Actually." He tried to hide the smirk that slowly spread across his face.

She smiled evilly looking up at him, a glimmer of lust dancing in her eyes. "We never did get to finish what we started last night."

"Are you suggesting what I think you are suggesting, Miss Granger?" He asked with mock shock laced into his tone.

"Well. I just so happened to have a few hours cleared in my schedule for the day, so I am wide open in more ways than one if you are up to it."

She only had to ask him once. Or not at all. Whatever. Gently pushing her back on the couch he moved to straddle her resting all of his weight on his knees and hands. This felt different. Organic. Not at all forced like it almost had been previously because they had a tight schedule and an end goal in mind. This time, this time with no restrictions it was a whole different ballgame and he didn't mind.

He loved how exposed and vulnerable she looked from beneath him, he doe eyes full of lust and hunger waiting for him to make the first move. A primal instinct began to raise its head and come out of a deep slumber and he felt his cock pressing hard against his trousers already and could only groan in response. Fuck. What was she brining out of him?

Pressing his lips with passion and hunger to her own her eyes widened in shock and want at the ferocity in which he was coming at her. She liked this. She had always wanted the raw, unbridled passion he was showing her, but she had never, ever received it until now. Ron was a meek, straight to the point and rarely deviated from the usual script he followed.

Slowly he tangled his long fingers around her thin wrists and forced her hands high above her head, pinning her to the spot forcefully as he pressed his lips even harder to her own and she groaned against them in bliss and need.

He broke the kiss breathlessly as she now writhed beneath him in want. "Just go with the flow, witch," he whispered in her ear, his hot breath crossing the shell of her ear followed by a nip to her earlobe. She let out a soft, shuddery breath in response, closing her eyes as she relished in the moment.

Wrangling her wrists in one hand he took the other, cupping her chin forcing her head back to expose her white, pale neck and he licked his lips hungrily. Needily. Running his tongue from her earlobe to collarbone he could feel her writing beneath him, and he only grinned wickedly in response. Following the path his tongue just took he pressed his lips against her ear again. "Be a good girl won't you, Hermione," he whispered deep and sharply into her ear.

Her only response to that was a deep exhale through her now and he took that as yes, she would be fully compliant with whatever he wanted.

Kissing his way down her neck he paused nipping and nibbling just above her clavicle and then sunk his teeth into the unblemished flesh, licking and sucking while listening to her breathing becoming more laboured and heavier as she fought the urge to push him off and tell him to stop.

Pulling back, he admired the work he had created on her once-perfect flesh, now marred with his mark. The purple and red bruise on her neck was in the most obvious spot he could have ever have placed it.

"Everyone will see that you know," She protested heavily trying to wriggle from his one-handed grip but it was futile because even one-handed he was much stronger than she was.

"You can put a glamour on it, witch," he bit with a raise of an eyebrow. Letting her arms go, he slowly unbuttoned the white blouse she was wearing exposing her milky white breasts peeking out of the top of her white bra and began fumbling, pushing the shirt off of her shoulders and pulling it roughly down her arms dropping it on the floor to be long forgotten.

Her chest heaving with anticipation, her breasts moving in rhythm and he cupped them both, squeezing gently through their cloth prison she moaned in delight at the soft touch. Something was different this time. Almost as if a paradigm had shifted and she was enjoying this. Enjoying his hands all over her body. She was enjoying the whole ordeal right and she had zero guilt for hiding away in here for the day. She wished she had have done this sooner. Even if she didn't fall pregnant after all of this, at least the sexually deprived woman inside of her was slowly starting to awaken after laying long-dormant and would be well sated from here on in.

"You really won't be needing this," he murmured softly. Leaning forward and forcing one hand beneath her he expertly unclasped her bra and pulled it off, throwing it somewhere into the abyss across the room without even a second thought. He couldn't help but feel powerful as he made all the moves pressing her beneath himself leaving her with no control, something he knew she hated. She loved to control every single aspect of her life and this would be irking her beyond measure.

Gently cupping her breasts again thumbs raked gently over nipples and he noticed how she sucked in a breath and arched her back at the small gesture, eyes closing half-mast relishing in the touch he leaned forward and kissed her with passion and want once again. Pushing his tongue deep in her mouth she bucked her hips up into him and clawed feverishly at his back littering his flesh with half-crescent impressions now marring his back, but he didn't mind about that. The pain almost an aphrodisiac to him.

He broke the kiss again, pushing himself to his feet and kicked his shoes off followed by his trousers, underwear and then the white collared shirt he had opted to wear that day to the ministry.

Hermione propped herself up on her elbow and watched him undress, gnawing on her bottom lip hard; absentmindedly. He was alright for a man of his age. Well-toned and just a hint of muscle rippling beneath his flesh as he moved. She flushed pink when she saw his hard cock and looked away coyly which only amused him.

"It's not like you haven't seen it before, Witch," He growled low in his throat kneeling at the end of the couch, and seizing her by the waist, sliding fingers into the waistband of her skirt and panties and pulled them off without even a second thought. She half laughed and screamed at the force in which he did so.

"I know that. It's was right there in my face and larger than life."

"It's large, I agree." He smirked smartly raising a brow high into his blonde hairline.

"Is it a man thing to exaggerate about the size of things?" She asked airily; breathless.

"I tell nothing but the truth, woman. No exaggeration needed here."

"Well, for what it's worth it's alright for someone of your vintage."

"My vintage?" He asked. Almost offended. "I will have you know I could outwit, outlast and out fuck anyone half my age witch and you know it. I am well-schooled in subtle lovemaking and female orgasms.

"Do I really know, though?" Mock innocence laced her tone heavily, chocolate eyes swimming with desire as she bit her lip once more and he almost had to stop himself from jumping on her and fucking her stupid right now if she didn't wipe that sultry look of her face in the next five seconds, she was in trouble.

"You should know by now," he said matter of factly. Fingers tracing feather-light up the length of her legs and back down to her knee's again and sat idly while he waited to see where this conversation went. If she kept increasing the sexual tension that already hung so thick in the air, she would be well and truly in trouble today.

"I don't think I do, Mister Malfoy… Maybe you can show me?" She nibbled the corner of her bottom lip once again innocently and battered her eyelashes.

That was it. She just sealed her own fate.

Grabbing her roughly around her hips again he flipped her lithe frame over with ease, so she was now on her stomach. Tangling long, pale fingers through soft auburn hair he pulled her head back and pressed lips to the shell of her ear. "On your knees," he ordered roughly. She obliged.

One foot on the ground and the other knee bent on the couch, hand still tangled in hair he guided his throbbing cock into her hot, slick centre and he had to bite his tongue and stop himself from moaning in delight. He loved how tight her velvet walls felt around his throbbing cock and he wanted to be consumed wholly and fully by her right now. She felt perfect, better than anyone he had ever been inside before and that even included his wife. It was almost as if she were made for him, his perfect fit. She the puzzle piece to the hole he had felt inside of himself now starting to fill. He almost felt complete. Wait. What? She shook his head. No. He was being stupid.

Hand now on her hip he thrust himself hard against her with force scooting her a few inches across the couch with each movement. She buried her head in the cushion to muffle her small moans of pleasure as he did so, and she couldn't believe this was happening right now. When she got out of bed this morning, she never thought she would be having the best sex of her life with Lucius Malfoy when she was meant to be working.

"Do you like that, Witch?" He muttered in between thrusts only to be met with a whimper of approval and a soft groan and not much more.

He pulled himself out of her and flipped her onto her back and pulled her down as far as he could towards her, lifting her leg over his shoulder he guided himself back into her tight, wet hole and kept thrusting hard bringing himself closer to the edge of his release. Pressing a kiss hard to her lips she clawed at his back again needily pulling him closer as she crept closer to her own release.

"Your turn, witch," he forced out, breathless. Sliding his arms behind her back he lifted her up with ease and she clung to him. He sat back on the couch, her now astride him. Panic set in her eyes and she stiffened against him, unmoving. She had never been in control before sexually and that scared her a lot. She literally had no idea what to do. This experience was really opening her eyes just to how sexually deprived she had been in her life.

"How deprived has your sex life actually been?" He asked seriously. Blonde hair cascading down his shoulders loosely. His white skin flushing a crimson colour and his chest heaved heavier than before.

"I mean I've had sex…" she trailed off. Heat creeping back into her cheeks as she spoke realising just how much she had missed out on in her life.

"It seems he has a lot to answer for. Imagine not being able to sexually satisfy your wife adequately. Just go slow, witch. It all comes naturally," he coaxed gently grabbing her hips softly and guiding her in the motion she needed to be executing until she took over on her own accord. Burying her head hard in his shoulder she fell into the rhythm of what she was doing.

Caught in the heat of the moment she bit his shoulder hard, sinking her teeth in into the white flesh painfully increasing the pressure with every moment she brought herself to tipping over the edge into euphoria and beyond.

Fingers tangling in her hair again he threw his head back hard as he came deep inside of her. Finally, the release he had been denied the night before and boy was it worth it. He assumed by the fact her teeth were no longer mutilating his shoulder that she had tipped herself over the edge also. The bite mark on his shoulder searing with pain and he knew it would be bleeding.

She rested her head on his shoulder. His arms wrapped around her holding her tight both listening to the content breathing of the other as they just held one another. Neither spoken as time ticked past, both relishing in the gentle touch and the company of the other as if they had been denied just basic human contact like this.

Eventually. She broke the silence. "Do you still want to come over tonight?" She murmured against his chest, her lips feather-light on his skin. She mentally scolded herself. Why was she asking him that? It sounded needy and desperate. But the truth of the matter, perhaps she really was needy and desperate for the touch and company of another human being in her life.

"Tough one. Do I want to sit at home alone or be ridden like one of the Queen's Horses at Royal Ascot?" He asked in a curious upward inflection.

She snorted the most undignified sound she had ever heard come from her own body. "I'll take that as a yes then. I will open a Floo connection between my place and yours. The last thing I need is reporters snooping around and seeing you coming and leaving every night of the week."

She clambered off him and began to hunt around the room for her long-discarded clothes. "I suppose I better get to Susan before she has a heart attack that she cannot find me. And for what it was worth, this was the best working day of my life."

"Oh, course it was." He waved a hand dismissively. "You got to shag me."

**A/N: Wow. This chapter was not meant to be over 5000 words. Although I am sure none of you will complain about the length. Thank you to everyone who has read/fave/reviewed this story. This chapter took me a week to write because I kept deleting parts and adding more and then I thought maybe it was too early for them to be liking one another's company but it just felt organic so I ran with it.**

** -Aliasmel1**


	7. Chapter 7

Thank Merlin it was Friday night, because if she had to go back into the office tomorrow, she might just opt to fly to another country, assume a new identity and slip into a life of anonymity.

She had been lectured by Susan when she finally did drag herself to the office and Susan threatened to quit on the spot when she found out that Hermione had left her to deal with everyone so she could fuck Lucius Malfoy, but Hermione assured her it would never happen again. Maybe. It probably would happen again.

Ron's little homewrecker had screamed at her, cried, yelled, wailed and tried to jump across the large desk and feverishly claw at her throat, but Titus, bless him, put an abrupt stop to that.

And then she had to deal with magical law enforcement asking her for her statement on the matter. Then she had to delicately and smartly talk her way through an interview with a Daily Prophet reporter.

She eventually slunk out of the office and home where she had whipped her bra off and kicked her shoes off. As she made her way to the kitchen, a mirror on the wall caught her attention and she stopped to look at it. Well. Fuck.

She looked tired. She looked old. She barely recognised herself. Her skin was pale and had her eyes dull, large bags beneath them and she sighed loudly running a hand through her tangled hair on her head and noted a large clump came out as she did so. This job was killing her. The stress of the job was enough alone but add to that the Ron saga and it was unbearable. She wouldn't be surprised if she had a heart attack if she were honest and here, she was trying to get pregnant in the midst of this whole thing… AND she was going to raise the child alone. Yeah, not her finest moment but she knew she could do it.

She padded to the kitchen, plucked a wine glass and a bottle of red wine off the counter and stopped looking critically at the glass she placed it back down. The bottle would do, and even then, she would need a few of these to deal with the day she had, and settled down at the kitchen table resting her head against the cool, hard surface and began to ponder what had actually happened to her life. Where did it all go wrong? At what point did her life take the wrong fork in the road and implode in a massive shit show.

"Rough day?" The voice of Lucius Malfoy caught her ears and drifted to her from the fireplace. She had been so deep in thought; she hadn't even heard him floo in.

"Rough doesn't begin to explain it." She didn't even move from her spot, opting to keep her head pressed heavily to the table.

"After I left you my whole day went downhill. I almost had my eyes clawed out by Ron's little harlot and then I had reporters wanting to talk to me and eventually the Aurors wanted my statement as well. It was full-on." She never even looked up. She never moved from her spot. She was too tired to move.

"And you think you will find solace at the bottom of that bottle?" His deep baritone voice met her ears as his slender fingers sunk into her tight shoulders and began to slowly massage tight, stressed muscles.

"I'm hoping it's enough to black me out till the morning at least," she confessed melting a little as his fingers worked their magic on her muscles and she wondered when their relationship had jumped from the realm of sex and nothing more to her being able to confide in him. Whenever the moment happened, it happened quickly and she wondered if he had noticed and if he did, did it bother him? It did not bother her. She was lonely and so desperate for company and companionship that she probably would have sat in a room and chatted with Voldemort himself if the chance had arisen.

If she were honest, the nights when he was there is what she looked forward to the most, even if it was just briefly. At least she got to feel the flesh of another. Taste lips. It was nice. And she wondered if that is why she desperately wanted a child, to fill that cold empty void in her life that she was experiencing of late.

"Your muscles are so tight," he spoke through gritted teeth, concentrating hard at the task on hand. Stopping only to run both hands through her hair, bunch it up and place it over her shoulder so he wasn't pulling it accidentally as he massaged.

"Lucius?" She whispered gently a few minutes later.

"Mmm?" He hummed in response getting lost in the task at hand, only just hearing her soft whispered voice.

"Do you ever just feel… lonely? Like no one else is there for you in the world and you are totally alone?"

His hands ceased moving for a moment, staring into space, his mind ticking over with deep thought. "All the time." He swooped around and sat on a chair beside her. "When Draco and Narcissa were…" he sucked in a deep shuddered breath and needed a moment to compose himself. "When they were… gone, I felt the loneliest I ever had in my life. You take things like family for granted way too much and you expect them to be there forever and then in the blink of an eye, you are all alone and questioning life. You realise possessions and money no longer make you happy and probably never did and you come to the realisation that the friends you had were only temporary and that you truly are alone in this world without your family. I'd give up every possession I own just to have my family back." He sighed forlornly trying to swallow away the hard lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat.

"I just can't help but feel alone in this world," she confessed. "Even when I had Ron, I just felt… Alone, I guess. Even when I am surrounded by people all day I feel as a large chunk of something is missing. I guess I never really had a large family. My mum and dad of course and my Aunty. Mum and dad were unfortunately privy to mind alteration that I had to do myself at the height of the war to protect them and my Aunty died not long after. I've never known any other family really. I used to feel content that Harry and Ron were my family, you know? And then slowly Harry went off and married and it left a huge hole in my heart I guess?" She smiled meekly, casting a glance towards him.

"I guess you wouldn't understand the hole Harry left but you get the sentiment I am sure. I saw him less and less until eventually I only saw him when we went to the burrow for holidays and gatherings and then it felt as if we were strangers. It was odd how we could have once been so close and then it was like exchanging pleasantries with a stranger on the street? Conversations were always awkward. Once we were so close and then we were worlds apart. It was around then I realised maybe I had loved Harry in a strange way more than I did Ron. I filled my life with so much to distract me and to take away the focus of that small empty spot in my heart that Harry once filled and it worked for a while. I forgot the loneliness I once felt. Now, Ron has done this, that small hole in my heart is now a gaping wound and I don't know if I will ever recover from it. It's weird. I never thought I would be the type to rely on others for fulfilment but here we are." She swiped feverishly at her cheeks trying to hide the tears that were free-falling down her cheeks at the rate of knots.

"So, you were in love with Harry Potter?" He asked, unsure. Reaching out a single-digit to wipe a stray tear as it slid silently down her white cheek. Tear stains marring flesh.

"I loved Harry. I loved him with my whole heart but I don't think I was in love with him? Like I loved him as someone would love their family and then when we drifted apart it killed me. No one knows that except me and now you." She sighed sadly, resting her head back on the table as if life had defeated her and the truth was, it had.

"The truth was, I liked Harry way more than Ron in certain ways but I don't think I ever thought of Harry as a potential partner or friend. We went through a lot when we went Horcrux hunting and Ron stormed off like the petulant child he is. I think that really cemented the fact how much we needed one another as support rather than romantically. I'm not sure why I chose Ron. I guess he was just there. I was young. We all were. I felt pressure I suppose from the start. The young couple full of hope and love after a devastating war. It was almost like it was expected. When we started dating, Molly was always fussing over me and telling me how much she would love to have me as her second daughter and I felt forced. Like if I didn't marry him, I would be letting her down and I hated not pleasing people at that stage of my life. I guess it's an age thing. When I was younger, I hated to offend and say no, but as I've gotten older, I've learned to say no and rarely care if I offend." She flattened her palms against the cool, smooth wood of the table and pushed herself up so she was not sitting upright again. Swiping madly at her face she tried to push away the tears once again but it was futile. It had been so long since she had talked to anyone like this and gotten the weight off her chest that the tears were inevitable.

She stood up and stretched side to side, hearing her spine pop into place rhythmically. "When I was young, I thought life was so wonderful, you know? Rainbows and puppies and unicorns. Then, as I got older, I thought the ride was a bit wild but nothing I couldn't handle and then from far-left field life runs in, knocks me over and fucks me in the arse sideways." She closed her eyes for a moment, sucking in a jagged breath and staring off into space as if thinking deeply.

"I get where you are coming from, Hermione. I've lost the love of my life and my only child. To have to bury your own wife and son is soul destroying and I didn't think I would ever come back from it. The days were dark and the nights alone darker. There were several times in the years following their deaths that I didn't want to exist anymore. I guess I just wanted to be with them. I couldn't bear the pain of living without them and one day I woke up and the pain was less. It was still there, and I didn't forget them but it lessened. And the day after that and the one after that until one day I woke up and I missed them immensely but the pain had dulled more to an annoyance. I figured they wouldn't want me to live a life of misery and cry over them daily. I get where you are coming from. Your pain is still so raw and so pure and you will try any means possible to fill it even if it means spending your nights with a prick such as myself. You loathed me beyond measure and then welcome me into your home with open arms…And legs I suppose. You were so desperate to feel the touch of another person, to feel the comfort that the closeness could bring that you totally pushed aside every terrible thing I have done to you and pushed it to the back of your mind. You were then even more desperate to fill that void long term and you agreed to bear my child and raise it. You are hurting badly, Hermione. I promise you it does get better in time but it won't happen overnight." He pushed his chair back lightly across the floor and pulled himself up to full height.

"And drinking your feelings away doesn't really work. I've been there and tried that. It numbs the pain intermittently but then you have to face it again the next day." He cast an ominous look at the unopened wine bottle on the table. "Now. Let's get you to bed, you look like death warmed up."

She released a breath she had been holding. Thank Merlin he wasn't expecting sex because if she were honest, there was no way for love nor money she could do that tonight. He guided her towards her bedroom with light fingers brushing the small of her back.

She was so tired; she couldn't even be bothered showering or changing. Instead, she pulled her shirt off and dropped it on the ground and pushed her skirt over her hips leaving her in panties only, she climbed into bed. "Lucius. Please stay the night," she whispered softly, eyes shut already as she started to drift to sleep.

He sighed. Eyes darted to the door and back to the hopelessly lonely woman on the bed begging him to stay and fill that void just for one night. He closed his eyes hard as if trying to make up his mind. He didn't want to head in this direction. They were to sleep together once a day and cut physical ties upon her pregnancy and that was it. He wasn't meant to be emotion support. He wasn't meant to be a shoulder to cry on and he wasn't meant to be filling any voids in anyone's heart.

One night, he reminded himself. Kicking off his shoes and hastily casting away his pants he pulled his shirt over his head rendering him dressed just as scantily as she were. Sliding in behind her he slid one arm beneath her and the other over her hip and pulled her close to him. He noticed she melted against him and her breathing became laboured and she was asleep within minutes.

He lay beside her holding her in the dark. Skin on skin. Her breath soft and sweet. He couldn't help but feel a small pang of sadness deep within his heart. He used to hold Narcissa like this, without a care in the world just watching her sleep.

He shut his eyes still in deep thought. He didn't want Hermione Granger for anything other than to bear him an Heir, but right now, at this exact moment in time he didn't mind being the Band-Aid to the gaping void in her heart. After all, he once too felt hurt like this and could have only wished for companionship that he was currently affording her. He mentally made a note in his mind just as he was drifting off to sleep. One. Night. Only.

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this story thus far. Updates are generally sporadic and have no schedule. Rest assured I will eventually complete this story within a realistic time-frame (as in, you won't be waiting six years for an ending, most of my stories average a year- a year and a half.)**

**-Aliasmel1**


	8. Chapter 8

The harsh stab of the dawn sun shone harshly through Hermione's bedroom window, and with it came the stark reminder of who she shared a bed with the previous night. And it wasn't like she could blame anyone but herself because if she remembered correctly she was the one that suggested him to stay the night with her.

She stiffened and laid unmoving on the bed as she felt the pleasant touch of soft flesh on her back. A gentle hand laid limply on her hip and the soft breath of Lucius hit her neck and tickled slightly. She would be lying if she said she wanted to move. This was nice. To be in the arms of a man who chose to be here on his own accord and not one that had a mistress off carrying his child unbeknownst to her.

She sighed sadly. This would not last, and she was stupid to even lay here and relish in the warmth of another human being. She did not deserve this. Well, deep down she felt as if she didn't. She was so self-absorbed in her own career that she had made it to this age and was now cold and alone with only a man to warm her bed under terms and conditions. She exhaled sharply through her nose. How things had changed.

The fingers on her hip stirred softly before jolting alive, tracing light circular motions.

"Morning," he murmured groggily. His lips pressing against her shoulder in a modest show of tenderness. They both stiffened at the sentiment, and both for different reasons. He because he had a lapse in judgement and forgot that despite waking up next to the witch, they were merely in this predicament for the same reason and it wasn't romance.

She stiffened at the display of affection because not only was she never expecting something like this, and she would never have expected it to come from Lucius Malfoy, but she liked it. It was a sweet gesture, she thought to herself.

"Thanks for staying the night." She blurted out, seeking to break the uncomfortable silence that now hung thick in the air and was gnawing at her psyche like a rabid dog. Why should this be uncomfortable? She pondered to herself. They were both grown adults in a mutually agreed sexual relationship, so why should one show of closeness to the other deemed inappropriate?

"I've been thinking," Lucius mumbled, still trying to wake up and ignoring her thanks.

"Did it hurt?" She asked casually before realising she wasn't with Ron and went to apologise. She turned to face him, only to see a light smirk planted on his face.

"Are you always that smart?" He asked softly, reaching up and tucking a stray curl behind her ear.

"I have my moments." She beamed back sheepishly.

"I know you haven't conceived yet but when and if the time comes, I would like to send my best elf over to help oversee the raising of our child and to help you out."

Her face instantly screwed up in disgust. "I cannot accept that, Lucius. You know I like to do things myself and the elf would be wasted here."

He exhaled loudly. He assumed she would be like this. She was always like this. "It's because if you have an elf, you won't be in full control of our child like you are in every other aspect of your life. You loathe beyond measure not being able to control every aspect of your life. It irks you. It eats at your psyche and gives you anxiety. When you aren't in control, it makes you feel sick. It puts you on edge." He noticed her expression change from gentle to hard and steely, and she looked annoyed.

"That's not me at all," she whispered hollowly, looking right through him. She didn't need to be in control of every aspect of her life and he was stupid to think she was that pedantic.

"Oh. Please. Hermione. I can read you like an open book. You try to hide behind a tough facade and push everyone away. But it won't work on me. I've seen your kind before. I've dealt with your kind. Narcissa was exactly your kind, and I finally got through to her and broke down her walls and I feel you just need that one person to break down yours or you will never be happy."

"With all due respect, Lucius, I don't need anyone to break down anything of mine. I am content living the life I am living, thank you very much."

He snorted derisively. "And yet here you are. With me. In your bed. Wanting to change your life far beyond the realm of what it is now by ways and means of a child."

She didn't say another word because somehow she knew he was right, and her logic was flawed, and she hated that. It left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Lucius sat on the edge of the bed and fished around on the floor for his pants. Locating them, he pulled the belt swiftly from the loops of his pants. The black leather caught the corner of her eye and an eyebrow raised subtly.

"What do you plan on doing with that?" She asked in a ghostly whisper, watching the man running his thumb over the smooth satin dragonhide leather.

"Well, Hermione. You say you don't always need to be in control, so let's see how true that sentiment rings."

Swiftly and with an agility that she would have expected to see only from a man twenty years his junior, he had her pinned beneath himself. A knee placed either side of her on the bed and with an almost primal look in his eye, he grabbed her hands and forced them above her head. Sliding the belt under her hands, he looped the leather of the belt through the buckle and tightened the leather against her bare wrists.

She eyed him suspiciously as a surprised yowl fell from her lips and her eyes were deep with question and uncertainty. She already wasn't sure if she would like this.

Holding his belt tight, on one hand, he pulled her hands roughly and thread the leather through a rail on her bedhead and twisted it tightly around itself, tying her roughly to the bed with no ways or means of escape.

"Lucius," she warned sternly in a steely voice.

"Prove to me you need not be in control." He countered with a single raise of his right brow, almost willing her to accept what he was doing.

He leaned forward and touched his lips gently to hers. Still straddling her, his arms now took his weight over the top of her. She needed to learn to let someone else be in control. He couldn't imagine living in her head. She was always a ball of anxiety ready to meltdown at any given time, and she needed to relax.

He kissed across her jawbone and continued to pepper them down her neck and across her collarbone at as slow a pace as he could manage. He felt her flinch beneath him, and he knew deep down it was killing her not to control the situation at hand.

Large hands grasped needily at her panties and pulled them down hastily pulling lips from flesh as he did so. He was not here for his own release, no. He was merely doing this to prove a point to her. He wondered at what point she wouldn't be able to keep her mouth shut and start barking orders at him.

As thin fabric slid down creamy thighs and over knees, they continued their journey over calves and eventually hit the floor without a sound.

A hand on each thigh ran slowly down to her knees. He moved sideways on the bed before roughly spreading her legs apart. He looked to her and notice a gentle heat crept into her cheeks at the gesture.

He knew she hated being under his gaze like this. She hated her body so much and was so full of insecurities and it killed her to be in this vulnerable position beneath him with no means of escape or covering up.

He watched as she gnawed on her bottom lip, something he noticed she did when she was unsure of a situation. He smiled at her, almost lost in her warm chocolate orbs before bringing himself back to reality. Fuck. What happened there? He tried to push the thoughts aside that were dancing in his head, spinning and swirling like a ballerina on crack. He froze for a moment as he tried to get his thoughts together. This was Hermione Granger. This wasn't Narcissa Malfoy. She was merely here for convenience and nothing more, so why was he staring at her with some stupid impish grin on his face. This much sex was driving him crazy.

He shook his head as if trying to shake the thoughts out of his head, leaning down to her wet heat as his tongue swiped gently at her sweet spot.

Merlin fucking hell. What was he trying to do to her? She could hardly focus after just waking up and her head was still foggy and here he was going to town on her without a fucking qualm or missing a beat. She bit her bottom lip harder and merely let out a mew of delight as his tongue swiped with purpose over her clit again and again. She deduced from how well he was doing this that it wasn't his first nor second rodeo and he schooled well in the art of bringing a woman to euphoria with his tongue… Something she sadly admitted had never been privy too before in her life if she were being honest.

She pulled hard against the restraints, wanting to run her hands through his hair and clutched the sheets. She wanted to scream. She wanted to talk. But she didn't. She would play along with his little game and prove to him she didn't always have to be in control.

His hands rested gently on her thighs as he continued to lap at her warm heat, and he wondered how long it would be before she said anything. He was honestly surprised she had lasted this long and the only sound coming from her was a small mew oh delight and the rapid increase of breath as he brought her closer to her release.

Her legs shook violently beneath his hands and her breathing rapid and raspy, and he knew that he was bringing her to the edge of her release. Her body went limp around him and her breathing quietened. Sliding up her body, he kissed her hard and fiercely, forcing her to taste herself on his lips.

The kiss broke only when a knock on her bedroom door roused them.

"I don't know what sick bondage ritual I am interrupting here, and I might need someone to obliviate my memory after this, but you need to see this." Susan strode purposefully across the room without hesitation.

Lucius pulled a sheet up over the two of them as she tossed the Daily Prophet on the bed. Hermione craned her neck trying to read and was incapable of picking the paper up at present.

"For Merlin sakes. Untie the woman," Susan barked at him.

Once her hands were free, Hermione perused the Daily Prophet that had been thrown at her. Eyes darting side to side as she read with full attention. Lucius read on beside her, his gaze occasionally glimpsing her and the anger that was now clear on her face and emanating from her body.

She dropped the paper in her lap as if it were red hot and possibly cursed and she just sat staring blankly at the wall opposite unblinking. If she wasn't feeling so angry, she would have felt a lot more awkward than she did right now after being walked in on while she had been tied to the bed and naked, but under these circumstances, she didn't care.

"How the fuck could they do this?" She bit, exasperated, throwing her now free hands into the air.

"They would do anything to get the spotlight off of him, pet." He laid a gentle hand on her thigh as if trying to tell her it was all ok.

She couldn't get that vile headline out of her mind or the words that marred the paper in the most maleficent of ways. It was abhorrent.

_**Minister of lies.**_

_**That was the headline that had been splashed across the front page in Times New Roman in the biggest font they could fit within the borders of the page. She was sure if they could, they would have made a super-sized edition just to get the point across even more.**_

_**Recently scorned Hermione Granger might have only herself to blame for the recently marital issues and disseverance of her marriage to Ronald Weasley.**_

_**Whilst hiding behind the facade of heartbreak and lies, it seemed the Minister was up to her own deceit and lies and just as much to blame as her former husband. Running around behind everyone's backs fraternizing with no other than the richest wizard in Britain, Lucius Malfoy, with the end goal to bear his child, the perfect way too fast track herself to a better life.**_

_**This reporter wonders if perhaps the Minister takes her role seriously and will be around to lead us into tomorrow when she has plans to start a family. She cannot possibly raise a child and run the Wizarding World as we know it.**_

_**And you may wonder how we obtained this tantalising tidbit of information?**_

_**"We walked in on them," An exasperated Molly Weasley admonished to me.**_

_**" It was disturbing, to say the least," Added Arthur Weasley.**_

_**"They were going at it in the kitchen! The Kitchen! That is where you prepare food, not fornicate." Molly Weasley added.**_

_**Is Hermione Granger fit to run the ministry or even still, can we trust her to run the ministry now? Deceit and lies and not a good look for who we once thought was a pure, upstanding pillar in our community.**_

_**-Rita Skeeter.**_

"How. Why?" She whispered to herself, not expecting an answer.

"They needed to take the focus off of their filthy troglodyte of a son, obviously," Lucius started at the same wall she was and wondered if he would now be treated any differently in society now the news had come out.

"Hermione…" Susan butted in gently. "You're going to have to address this… Today. Now, possibly."

"I know," Her voice hollow. A lump in her throat and her chest feeling as if it were about to explode. She would not lose her job over one silly little article. She couldn't very well deny it because it would look like she was an even bigger tale spinner once she conceived a child to him. She just wanted this whole thing to be over and done with. This was their way of trying to make her look bad. She wondered if they would come knocking on her door asking her to drop charges against Ron and they would retract their statements and say it was one huge lie. She knew how they worked. The Weasley's, that was. She knew they could be cunning like a fox and as sneaky as a Niffler. She exhaled hard through her nose. She had to fix this, now.

_A/N: Hope you enjoy the chapter! Sorry, it's been so long between chapters… I begin to write, then get side-tracked for days at a time and eventually come back and write a little more._

_-Aliasmel1_


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